Philippe Starck: a Design Genius

“Freedom is the only style. That is why I never speak about beauty or beautiful products but 'good products'. Nowadays, we have so many challenges; it is not really a priority to care for beauty. The only way for us is to focus on an ethic and ecological behaviour." - Philippe Starck

Philippe Starck : a versatile, eclectic, and original designer. Talking about one of the current designers, perhaps the best known and appreciated on the international scene, that balances both brands and public, it is not easy: there is always the risk of something already written and already seen. We will take this chance, presenting "a Japanese architect, an American art director, a German industrial designer, a French art director, an Italian furniture designer", as modestly defines himself Starck..

Born in Paris in 1949, Starck can not keep still: his idea of democratic design (the design must improve the lives of as many people as possible) leads him to explore all the areas of industrial design.

The design production of Starck is almost boundless (and maybe it should grow, as Starck is a prolific designer): it consists of everyday products, as toothbrushes, juicers, cookie cutters, pasta (for Panzani), watches, cutlery, thermal food containers, toys, bathrooms, TV, radio, scooters and yachts (like Venus for Steve Jobs), but also furniture design and interior design of hotel, offices, cafes, clubs and private homes. Among the houses designed by Starck, there is also the residence of then-president Mitterand at Elysee.

If you were wondering if Philippe Starck had never been designed a wind turbine ... yes, the genius of the design is also the maker of a domestic wind turbine, marketed by Pramac.

“Subversive, ethical, ecological, political, fun: this is how I see my duty as a creator” - Philippe Starck

Philippe has already won many prizes and awards (e.g. the Grand Prix National de la Création Industrielle and the Honor Award of the American Institute of Architects), that show an unique skill among his contemporaries. The museums compete for his works, including the Vitra Design Museum, the Musée National d'Art Moderne, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, MOMA and the Design Museum in London.

Starck is also the first Frenchman to be invited as a speaker to the TED conferences TED (Technology, Entertainment & Design), along with Bill Gates and Al Gore.

He collaborates with leading international brands, as Alessi, Kartell and Driade. Driade defines in this way the artistic flair of Philippe Starck: "He gets excited when he can float between minimalism and magnificence, pass from gravity to lightness mixing sentiment and functionality, blurring humour and subversion, discipline and non-conformism. The veneration for ambiguity offers him a freedom of action and invention that only few can achieve". 

Driade and Starck have a long-lasting collaboration: in 1984, in fact, Arturo Del Punta Christiani, Driade agent in France, introduced a young Starck to Enrico Astori to show the chair designed the year before for the Cafe Costes. Since then, it begun the collaboration between Starck and Driade, celebrated by the fashion house in a book in 1992. Exploring the production of Starck for Driade we find the comfortable and stackable chair Toy, which seems carved into a polypropylene block.

Iconic and timeless, the Lord Yo chair has been carefully revisited by Starck, with soft curves and raised back: the optional slipcover in white cotton or pique enhances even more its shapes, making it always recognizable.

Kartell and Starck have a fruitful partnership that includes, among others, the famous Louis Ghost armchair, made of transparent polycarbonate, La Marie chairs, Ghost Busters containers and the new Uncle Jim and Uncle Jack: an armchair and a sofa in a single injection mold, a daring example of this kind of technology.

The  Juicy Salif, a citrus- squeezer , is a real design icon: it was designed by Starck for Alessi on a pizzeria napkin, during a holiday by the sea in Italy. During Salone del Mobile 2015, Juicy was celebrated with an exclusive party for its 25 th anniversary, with a giant reproduction signed by Starck.

Starck’s portfolio wouldn't be complete without lamps, including the ironic Guns designed for Flos. A sense of humor pervades this collection of lamps by contemporary features, with a fire-arm to support the lampshade.

"The best everyday example of relativity, the finest symptom of human intelligence, is humor. (...) Design without humor is not human. The word 'beautiful' does not mean anything. Only coherence counts. An object, design or not, is primarily an object that meets the parameters of human intelligence, which reconciles opposites. The lack of humor is the definition of vulgarity."  - Philippe Starck

Which are your favorite design items designed by Philippe Starck?

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